3 ms·

‘Stop Making Sense’ Is Back, and Talking Heads Have More to Say

67 points by karaokeyoga 3y ago

kevinmchugh 3y ago
I've gotten to see Stop Making Sense at the local arthouse theater a couple times in the last five years and it has people out of their seats, dancing in the aisles 6 songs in. It's an incredible, ecstatic film. The band and director agreed that they wanted to see the band having fun, not the audience, and not the band being virtuosic. So there's no close ups of a guitar solo (the camera cuts away to other musicians reacting to the guitar solo) and there's almost no shots of the crowd. The effect is infectious gotta-move can't-stop-it fun. Probably the most unique movie theater experience I've ever had and I'd recommend it even if you don't know the band.
- alamortsubite 3y ago
  I've never seen it in a theater, but I used to really enjoy putting the movie on at home (with a good sound system) and playing along with it. I'm thinking about getting myself a copy of the re-release and real big suit to go with it.
  - Projectiboga 3y ago
    I went to Rutgers College 86-90 and this was on hi-fi VCR attached to a TV and a huge stereo at so many house parties the first few years of my schooling. Cool movie, I saw the tour for one of my first concerts. Not many have matched that experience. David Byrne puts on an amazing solo show. Here is a live set he did on a TV show he ran one season in the 90s at the former Studio 54. David Byrne Sessions at West 54, https://youtu.be/DUiUx4c6Imk?si=jbyDiVvuOcwbMbZs https://youtu.be/DUiUx4c6Imk?si=jbyDiVvuOcwbMbZs
- mikhailfranco 3y ago
  Yes, it used to be a regular at the Penultimate Picture Palace (PPP) and Not The Moulin Rouge in Oxford in the mid-80s. Truly communal and ecstatic.
mcshicks 3y ago
I was at the pantages theater for one of the shows. There are some clips at the end of the audience and there is a very brief moment where you can see me in the audience with my friend. My 1 second of fame. It was a great show and being able to see the video once in a while over the years has been a real treat
iammjm 3y ago
One of the best music video recordings I've ever seen. Pure fun and awesomeness
- venusenvy47 3y ago
  It's really great in surround sound. It's the first disc I play whenever I have make a change in my "home theater" for the past 20 years. I use it as calibration to make sure things are working well.
waltbosz 3y ago
Any other fans of the Byrne film "True Stories"?
- lacrimacida 3y ago
  Writing it down, first time I’m hearing of it
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- FelipeCortez 3y ago
  yes! I've always wondered why it isn't more popular. very relaxing, great music, perfect atmosphere
- jhbadger 3y ago
  I really like Spalding Gray's monologue in that about the breakdown of the work/social distinction.
  - Spastche 3y ago
    Spalding Gray is amazing in that
Gys 3y ago
https://archive.ph/hZowM https://archive.ph/hZowM
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
chrisweekly 3y ago
Unpaywalled: https://archive.ph/hZowM https://archive.ph/hZowM Also youtube has the full-length video (tho not yet the new edition ref'd in the post)
toomanyrichies 3y ago
David Byrne's book, "How Music Works", is an incredibly well-written, well-informed book on music. It opened up whole new avenues of music appreciation for me. Prior to reading it, I had never truly considered things like how the space in which music was consumed needed to be tailored to the type of music that would be played in that venue. For example, the acoustic precision of an opera house or cathedral would be wasted on The Ramones or Black Flag, just as the boxy space of a place like CBGB would be totally wrong for a chamber orchestra. It makes sense in retrospect, of course, but as a non-musician I had never considered it before. Now I'm reading Ted Gioia's "Music: A Subversive History". While the latter has much more academic research behind it than the former, I get the impression that David Byrne aspires to write at the same level as Gioia. And in my opinion, he's not that far off.

67 points by karaokeyoga 3y ago

I've gotten to see Stop Making Sense at the local arthouse theater a couple times in the last five years and it has people out of their seats, dancing in the aisles 6 songs in. It's an incredible, ecstatic film. The band and director agreed that they wanted to see the band having fun, not the audience, and not the band being virtuosic. So there's no close ups of a guitar solo (the camera cuts away to other musicians reacting to the guitar solo) and there's almost no shots of the crowd. The effect is infectious gotta-move can't-stop-it fun. Probably the most unique movie theater experience I've ever had and I'd recommend it even if you don't know the band.

alamortsubite 3y ago
I've never seen it in a theater, but I used to really enjoy putting the movie on at home (with a good sound system) and playing along with it. I'm thinking about getting myself a copy of the re-release and real big suit to go with it.
- Projectiboga 3y ago
  I went to Rutgers College 86-90 and this was on hi-fi VCR attached to a TV and a huge stereo at so many house parties the first few years of my schooling. Cool movie, I saw the tour for one of my first concerts. Not many have matched that experience. David Byrne puts on an amazing solo show. Here is a live set he did on a TV show he ran one season in the 90s at the former Studio 54. David Byrne Sessions at West 54, https://youtu.be/DUiUx4c6Imk?si=jbyDiVvuOcwbMbZs https://youtu.be/DUiUx4c6Imk?si=jbyDiVvuOcwbMbZs
mikhailfranco 3y ago
Yes, it used to be a regular at the Penultimate Picture Palace (PPP) and Not The Moulin Rouge in Oxford in the mid-80s. Truly communal and ecstatic.

mcshicks 3y ago

I was at the pantages theater for one of the shows. There are some clips at the end of the audience and there is a very brief moment where you can see me in the audience with my friend. My 1 second of fame. It was a great show and being able to see the video once in a while over the years has been a real treat

iammjm 3y ago

One of the best music video recordings I've ever seen. Pure fun and awesomeness

venusenvy47 3y ago
It's really great in surround sound. It's the first disc I play whenever I have make a change in my "home theater" for the past 20 years. I use it as calibration to make sure things are working well.

waltbosz 3y ago

Any other fans of the Byrne film "True Stories"?

lacrimacida 3y ago
Writing it down, first time I’m hearing of it
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
FelipeCortez 3y ago
yes! I've always wondered why it isn't more popular. very relaxing, great music, perfect atmosphere
jhbadger 3y ago
I really like Spalding Gray's monologue in that about the breakdown of the work/social distinction.
- Spastche 3y ago
  Spalding Gray is amazing in that

Gys 3y ago

https://archive.ph/hZowM https://archive.ph/hZowM

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

chrisweekly 3y ago

Unpaywalled: https://archive.ph/hZowM https://archive.ph/hZowM Also youtube has the full-length video (tho not yet the new edition ref'd in the post)

toomanyrichies 3y ago

David Byrne's book, "How Music Works", is an incredibly well-written, well-informed book on music. It opened up whole new avenues of music appreciation for me. Prior to reading it, I had never truly considered things like how the space in which music was consumed needed to be tailored to the type of music that would be played in that venue. For example, the acoustic precision of an opera house or cathedral would be wasted on The Ramones or Black Flag, just as the boxy space of a place like CBGB would be totally wrong for a chamber orchestra. It makes sense in retrospect, of course, but as a non-musician I had never considered it before. Now I'm reading Ted Gioia's "Music: A Subversive History". While the latter has much more academic research behind it than the former, I get the impression that David Byrne aspires to write at the same level as Gioia. And in my opinion, he's not that far off.